Arizonans Speak: Road Safety Cameras Stay!

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (July 1, 2010) - Efforts by opponents of Arizona’s photo enforcement programs fell
significantly short of gathering the required number of signatures to qualify for a statewide referendum to
ban photo enforcement on the November 2010 ballot.

“After nearly two years of attempts to undo Arizona’s highly successful road safety camera programs, the
anti-photo enforcement coalition was unable to garner enough support to even meet the minimum
standard to qualify for placement on the November ballot,” said George Hittner, General Counsel and Vice
President of Government Relations for American Traffic Solutions Inc. “Our consistent position that the
overwhelming majority of Arizona citizens strongly support road safety camera programs has again been
confirmed by the fact that less than 1.8 percent of Arizonans supported CameraFraud’s 2-year effort.”

In a 2009 poll, 84 percent of Arizonans expressed their strong support for intersection safety camera
programs and believed city police departments should continue to use cameras to issue tickets to red-light
runners. Most of Arizona’s major cities, including Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Scottsdale, Glendale, Tempe
and Chandler use cameras as a deterrent to reduce red-light running and save lives. This same poll
showed that speed camera programs carry similar support with more than six out of ten Arizona voters
favoring their use.

Road Safety Camera programs have been increasing safety throughout the state. For example, in Tucson,
fixed-speed safety cameras have reduced “excessive speeding” by as much as 90 percent at some
camera sites, and red-light running violations have decreased by over 29 percent in the first year of
operation across all enforced locations. Likewise, Mesa experienced a 45 percent decrease in red-light
running violations since 2007. Mesa PD also reports significant improvement in voluntary compliance with
posted school zone speed limits near Rhodes Junior High, where previously 85 percent of the drivers
exceeded posted speed limits by more than 10 miles per hour prior to the installation of Speed Safety
Cameras.

“Groups like CameraFraud have consistently aligned with organizations such as the National Motorists
Association and other groups representing extreme viewpoints of the population that are against most
common-sense forms of driver safety laws and programs, including helmet laws, seat belt laws, DUI
checkpoints, speed limits and air bags. The inability of CameraFraud to gather enough signatures to
qualify for the ballot is a strong indicator that the public supports road safety camera programs to increase
safety and deter dangerous driving behaviors,” Hittner said.

###

top | back to 2010 press releases